Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Gen. 42: 1-28 June 28, 2026

Message: “Joseph Meets His Brothers: The First Encounter”

By Pastor George Gnade

Play to Listen the Message

9:36

Introduction:

1. As most of you know, we have been studying the story of Joseph, who was sold by his brothers as a slave. But unknown to them, he ended up in prison in Egypt.  Then by God’s grace, he was raised up to rule over the whole land with only Pharaoh over him (Gen. 37-41).

2. This happened because he ended up interpreting some very special dreams that Pharaoh had had, predicting seven years of abundance followed by seven years of extreme famine.

a. Between the time that his brothers sold him into Egypt and the time of the famine over 20 years had passed.

b. This famine was wide-spread, affecting not only Egypt but the whole surrounding area. Thus it affected Joseph’s father Jacob, who thought he was dead, as well as the rest of his family, including his brothers. That is where Gen. 42 begins.

3. Jacob heard there was food in Egypt and encouraged his sons to go to Egypt and buy some food for themselves and their families. But when they did, they ended up dealing with Joseph where they bowed down before him, but did not recognize him. We can only imagine all the thoughts that went through Joseph’s head as he saw his brothers for the first time in twenty years.

a. I’m sure he had mixed feelings. Part of him still loved them. Part of him was very angry at them. Part of him wanted to get even with them, and part of him wanted to ask a thousand different questions.

b. But what should he do? How should he react? How should he treat them? He only had a few moments to decide.

4. The most important question on his mind was: “Can I trust them?” The past screamed into his ears with a loud “No!” In Gen. 42-45, we learn of all the twists and turns as the story develops. 

5. Today I want to draw your attention to four questions that we find in Gen. 42 that make us think as we try to apply this story to our own lives. 

A. The first question is found in Gen. 42:1. Jacob looks at his sons and says: “Why do you just keep looking at each other?”

1. The famine had come and something had to be done. So in essence, Jacob is saying: “Don’t just stand there! Do some-thing!” They had a problem that had to be solved. God had helped them. They had learned there was food in Egypt. Now they had to do their part.

a. There is a saying: “God helps those who help them-selves.” Some take that to mean we should simply do whatever we feel like doing. When we do that, we often go ahead of the Lord. Then we wonder why it didn’t work.

b. But there is some truth in that saying when we apply it correctly. God will do His part, but He often expects us to do our part. When He speaks to us, He expects us to listen. I like to call it a door of opportunity. But we must open the door!

2. In Matt. 7:7, Jesus said: “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.”

Asking, seeking, and knocking are three steps God expects us to take. It is His way of leading and guiding us.

a. Jacob was thankful God had shown them where to get food. Now he asks his sons to go and get it.

b. May God open our ears and our hearts to do what He asks us to do.

B. The second question is found in Gen. 42: 7 where Joseph asks his brothers: “Where did YOU come from?” 

1. I think he asked this rather harshly. That is why I empha-sized the “you.” I am sure the first thing he observed was that Jacob and his brother Benjamin were not with them. Had they done something to Benjamin, just like they did to him?

a. The men told him they were from Canaan and came to buy food. Joseph said they had come to spy out the land. He did that to make them nervous and to get them talking.

b. He succeeded. They told him all about their father Jacob and their brother Benjamin and “one who is no more.”

2. Ignoring the comment about himself, he said: “By this you shall be tested…Send one of you to bring your brother, and I will give you food to eat.” The truth is he was testing them. He wanted to make sure Benjamin was still alive or if they had sold or killed him too.

a. So he put them in jail for three days to make them think about it. Then he sent them home with food, but he kept Simeon in prison to make sure they would come back.

b. By keeping only one of them instead of nine of them, it made him look generous. But he warned them not to return without their brother.

3. God tests us too. God will often put us back into similar situations to see if we have changed, to see if we will remain faithful to Him or do wrong all over again.

a. That is not because God is mean. It is to test the genuineness of our faith (I Peter 1:6-7).

b. If we sinned the first time, will we compromise our faith and sin again? Do we love Him or will we sell Him short to get what we want? If we have learned our lesson, God will allow us to move on.

4. But the question: “Where did you come from?” meant more than: “Where do you live?” It was a subtle way of asking: “Have you changed for the better?

C. The third question is found in Gen. 42: 22 where Rueben, the oldest brother, asks: “Did I not tell you not to sin against the lad? But you would not listen!”

1. Joseph was speaking through an interpreter. They didn’t know he understood them. 

a. Rueben went on to say: “In truth, we are guilty concer-ning our brother in that we saw the distress of his soul when he beseeched us and we would not listen; therefore this distress is come upon us.”

b. There is a saying: “Be sure your sins will find you out.” The Bible says: “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7). It may take 20 years, but God has a way of evening things out.

2. The same principle provides hope. If we forgive, we shall be forgiven. If we are merciful, God will be merciful to us. If we repay evil with good, God may be gracious and overlook our past. We cannot change the past, but what we choose to do now can and will affect the future.

a. Paul called himself the “chief of sinners” because he tormented and even killed Christians before he was saved. But look what he did with the rest of his life (I Tim. 1:12-16)!

b. So Paul encourages us “to forget what lies behind and to press on toward what lies ahead, even the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14).  

c. Accepting Christ, asking Him to forgive us, and learn-ing how to live for Him is a gracious gift from the Lord.

D. This brings us to the fourth question found in Gen. 42:28.

1. With Simeon still in jail, the others started on their way home. Joseph had given them plenty of food for their money.

But at a stop along the way, they discovered that all their money had been given back to them! They turned to each other and said: “What is this that God has done to us?”

a. They trembled and feared for their lives and blamed God for all their problems. O how often we blame God instead of praising and thanking God.

b. They thought God was punishing them, when actually God was blessing them.

2. Joseph actually loved them so much that he gladly gave them back their money. All Joseph cared about was how his father and Benjamin were doing. But he had to know the truth. Only when the truth was revealed could reconciliation and forgiveness abound.

a. That is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. That is why Jesus died for us. But the gospel is not cheap grace that allows us to go on sinning and hurting God and others. It is always a call to change and get closer to God and become better people with help of God.

b. The truth of the gospel is that God is always reaching out to us before we reach out to Him. If we will only respond and take His hand, it will surprise us how gracious and kind  He can be.

In conclusion:

1. Joseph’s brothers would soon figure all this out. But they would have to be restored to their father and their brother in the process.

a. We have all made mistakes, some more serious than others. God is calling us to do better, but He will test us along the way to see if we are willing to do better.

b. By God’s grace, not only can we overcome our past, we can have a better future. But we must do it God’s way. 

2. God’s way always includes the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the price He paid for us on the cross, His offer of forgiveness, and His willingness to live in our hearts. But here is the question that we must answer: “Will we accept His gift?”

I pray that answer is “Yes!”  Amen.